The Weird Sisters and Ricotta and Blueberry Pancakes

Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters is a wonderful novel that is at its heart about sisterly love.  The novel is narrated by all three of the Andreas sisters.  I don't mean that novel is divided between each sister narrating in the first person but instead they all narrate together, a collective "we."  This narrative trick is just one of the things that makes this novel so charming.  What is also charming is that the characters often speak to each other in Shakespearean verse.  The father of the three sisters is a professor at a small but prestigious college in Ohio that has devoted his life to the study of the bard.  His deep knowledge of Shakespeare was passed on to his daughters - whether they wanted it or not - and the family communicates both trivial and important things to each other through Shakespeare's words.  The three sisters are named after characters in Shakespeare's plays - Rosalind (Rose) from As You Like It, Bianca (Bean) from The Taming of the Shrew (and Othello) and Cordelia (Cordy) the favored daughter from King Lear.  The book follows these three very different sisters as they all come home, really for their own reasons but also to help care for their mother, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Each sister, while dealing with their mother's illness is also dealing with a major crossroads in her life, and it is the time the sisters spend together that helps each sister move forward.   These pancakes were inspired by a meal the family had together, the first meal cooked for them by the prodigal daughter, Cordelia.  I fancied up the pancakes with some fresh ricotta cheese and Meyer lemon.  A wonderful easy brunch dish.

The three sisters that are the stars of Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters seem to be as different as can be.  Rose, the oldest, is the "responsible one."  She is a math professor who has stayed close to home and is practical, dependable and judgmental of her flightier sisters.  Bean, the middle child, is the "wild one."  She moved to New York after college and lived life in the fast lane by spending obscene amounts of money on clothes, makeup and fancy cocktails.  She also embezzled money from her employer, which is what causes her to move back to Barnwell, Ohio, where she grew up and her father teachers.  Cordy, the youngest, is the "flighty one."  She is a hippie who travels from town to town sleeping on random couches and with random men.  She ends up pregnant which is what sends her back to Barnwell.   All three sisters come home just as their mother begins treatment for breast cancer.  Their father is a bit helpless - head always stuck in a book or quoting Shakespeare rather than just speaking - so the girls, each with their own secrets and agenda  - pitch in to help their mother through her illness.  Although that is in theory what brought the three sisters home, that is not what the book is really about and not really why the sisters came home.  All three, though totally lovable in their dysfunctional ways, are also totally self absorbed.  They are each, understandably consumed with their own failures and dilemmas.  At the start of the novel none of the three are particularly kind to each other or to their parents.  But as the book progresses and the sisters' secrets come out, they grow more supportive of each other.  Even when they are criticizing each other it is apparent that they adore each other completely.  Even though their parents are a major part of the book, in a way they are just accessories - these three raised themselves.  The book follows each sister as she works through her issues and comes to a fairly neat conclusion in the end.  This book was  a fun read and Brown created three very interesting women that as a reader I was genuinely routing for.  I liked the addition of the Shakespeare quotes everywhere   - it is amazing how poetic and meaningful his word's can be when used to express oneself in everyday conversations.   Definitely put this one on your reading list.

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (adapted from food and wine)
(Printable Recipe) 
I am terrible at making pancakes.  I always burn them (see the burnt edges below...) and they are never as good as when I get them in restaurant or really when anyone else makes them.  I thought by trying some ricotta pancakes maybe I could break my pancake curse, since fresh ricotta makes everything it touches delicious.  I think I did break the curse with these pancakes, even though they are a tiny bit burnt.  The ricotta makes them a bit creamier and the step of whipping egg whites separately really lightens these up.






Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups milk
juice of 1 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)
zest of 1 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)
2 large eggs separated
1/2 cup fresh ricotta plus more for serving
1 - 2 cups blueberries, either fresh or defrosted frozen (I like to use frozen wild blueberries)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
2. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon juice and rind, egg yolks and ricotta.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. In a small bowl whisk the egg whites until frothy, fold into the pancake mixture.
5. Heat a large skillet over medium low heat and brush with butter or oil.
6. Drop about a 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet and then sprinkle in some blueberries.
7. Cook until edges bubble and then flip - cooking about 2 minutes a side.
8. You can keep these warm on a cookie sheet in a 225 degree oven.
9. Serve with syrup, more blueberries and/or some lightly sweetened ricotta.